Municipal water distribution systems are subject to design and installation according to the specifications in use by a given municipality. Often times, the specifications are changed over the course of several years owing to gradual improvements or changes in the state of the art.
An example of changing specifications and improving methods of water distribution is the field of fire hydrants. Although the prior art contains several types of fire hydrants, the majority of prior art hydrants exist in two-way or three-way configurations. A two-way configuration includes two hose nozzles while a three-way configuration includes two hose nozzles and a larger pumper nozzle. Occasionally a fire hydrant may comprise only a single large pumper nozzle.
There exist several reasons to choose between the various configurations available in fire hydrants. The choice of configuration is usually dependent upon the available fire equipment and the chosen method of distributing water from the hydrant source. Further, with an increased number of available nozzle ports on a hydrant, the likelihood that the ports will be tampered with by vandals is also increased.
Owing to the changing concerns and design specifications of municipalities, the distribution configuration of existing in place hydrants occasionally needs altering. The hydrants are usually modified to decrease the number of available ports on the hydrant. As such, reliable methods of shutting off one or more ports on the hydrant are required so that the hydrant is securely sealed from within and is substantially tamper-proof from the outside.
The present invention provides a single adaptable apparatus whereby varying fire hydrant configurations can be satisfactorily sealed. In this manner, hydrants which include different nozzle types and designs can be sealed in a cost efficient and timely manner. The plug assembly of the present invention is advantageously more cost efficient than conventional plug assemblies owing to reversibility and interchangeability of parts.